The Triglav Fighter was designed to be more maneuverable than most standard fighters, though this is still a matter of debate. It has multiple lateral thrusters that allow the pilot to quickly alter the fighters flight path. This gives the Triglav surprising turning and banking abilities that aid it during dogfights. It is equipped with dual Fusion Array cannons that are most effective at medium range. The Triglav is also given extra deflection plates to aid in its protection.

The Deep Space Miners' Alliance began in SC0064 as a sort of mutual protection pact between a trio of small mining companies--the experienced Ironwing Harvesters, the technologically adept Nu-Titania Diggers, and the family-owned but well-connected Nordstar Co., to be exact. Having each suffered greatly from deadly pirate raids and outright starjacking incidents in recent years, the three companies decided to pool their respective strengths and resources into a single overarching entity in order to stave off both bankruptcy and death--not that there was much difference between the two on the wild frontier of interplanetary industry and exploration, far from the eyes of authority.Combining the technological skill and piloting experience of the Harvesters and the Diggers with Nordstar's connections in the Sol system, the miners were able to obtain "obsolete" military hardware that would've otherwise been scrapped, upgrading said equipment to modern specifications and mounting it on their ships to defend themselves in future skirmishes. While by cutting-edge military standards their weapons were relatively crude, they served well in the first subsequent clashes with outlaws, and many times thereafter.Pictured are two of the most common fighter designs seen in DSMA colors.

The RM-E01 Remora fighter was built off of one of the M-1 Manta light mining craft owned and operated by the former Ironwing Harvesters. With the original design's bulky mining equipment and ore container pods removed, Nu-Titania's engineers were able to install additional combat-grade armor plating, high-output afterburners, and a pair of fire-linked D-26 "Thumper" autocannons, one mounted upon each of the ship's "fins". During mining operations, at least one Remora will typically be assigned to each pair of DSMA mining vessels or freighters to act as an escort. In combat, they form the bulk of the Deep Space Miners' forces, acting as surprisingly durable and agile interceptors, picking off stragglers or defending vulnerable allies.

The HSP-2 Hopper is not, technically, a fighter craft per se, but it can give support to actual combat ships wherever needed. A support vessel by nature, it mounts a pair of high-powered sensor antennae above the cockpit to give an unparalleled view of the battlefield and leaving enemies with no place to hide from its companions. It also mounts the same type of high-output afterburners as the Remora, allowing for excellent overall top seed as well as agility. While not designed for protracted engagements, it does mount hardpoints for three tactical torpedoes. This allows it either a decent amount of longevity when forced to fight, as well as making it a deadly hit-and-run vessel should the pilot choose to expend multiple torpedoes in a single salvo.

Takeshi-Singh Industries is a name synoynous with "Quality" - here to serve your security interests for the changing new frontier of the future.

Re-founded in SC 0035 as a merger between Takeshi Enterprises and Singh-Grimar Manufacturing, Takeshi-Singh Industries is an industry leader in the fields of advanced cybernetics, defense-systems manufacture, security consultation, and high-tech research. They are headquartered on their Hanamura Station in solar orbit near 4 Vesta with a secondary manufacturing complex at the Terran/Lunar L4 point. Takeshi-Singh has a reputation for high-quality boasting some of the most advanced flight control and weapons systems to date, albeit with a very hefty price tag.They also serve as security consultants for high-profile corporate and government entities, and are often contracted for anti-piracy operations within the belt and Jovian subsystem.

(Hanamura Station)

Takeshi-Singh's primary line of one-crew weapons platforms are trendsetters within their various classes.

A-24 Rapier-class Attack Interceptor

The Rapier is the most maneuverable TSI-designed craft to date. Independant vectored-thrust control vanes allow the Rapier to turn on a dime, quickly reaching the limits any pilot. Armed with a 36mm rotary vulcan and a pair of 30mm autocannons, the Rapier can quickly out-maneuver and gun-down any threat.

Y-11a Mjolnir-class Assault Craft

The Mjolnir is designed to carry and deliver a large weapons payload. Armed with 4 fusion missile launchers with 12 reloads, a pair of 40mm plasma lances, and a single 30mm autocannon for defense, the Mjolnir is perfectly capable of completely eliminating and large-scale target from the theatre of battle.

N-04 Hawkeye-class Electronic Warfare/Recon Platform

The Hawkeye serves as the eyes and ears of any fleet. "Armed" with a complex suite of Radar, Magnetomic, Gravimetric and Thermal Imaging systems, there's nothing that can escape the persistent gaze of the Hawkeye.

T-45 Avenger-class Space Superiority Fighter

The Avenger is the bread-and-butter of any squadron. The Avenger is designed to engage, harrass, and destroy enemy fighters before they become a threat to your interests.

Here's 3 single fighter contest submissions! (but all in one post, to save space and all)MFZ: Dog Fight by Aardvark17_, on Flickr

Sovereign by Aardvark17_, on FlickrThe Sovereign is a two-person Terran fightercraft built for speed and firepower, with two forward-mounted gun pods and a rear armored gunner position to fend off trailing threats. Some modified Sovereigns can also be found competing in various races throughout the asteroid belt.

Hellion by Aardvark17_, on FlickrNo other Martian fighter can quite live up to the Hellion, a small and nimble ship which has become quite ubiquitous as a personal craft as well as a fighter. It's compact and sturdy design makes it less likely to be damaged, and its vertical orientation opens up a roomy lower compartment for living space, storage, or combat modifications.

Vulture by Aardvark17_, on FlickrThough often used by pirates, Vultures are Jovian ships hailing from the moon Callisto. Their chin-mounted forward guns, underslung rotating turrets and built-in sensor pods make them formidable in battle, despite their namesake.

The Strix was design for ease of movement. Four independent Rotor Jets allow the VTOL to turn, strafe, bank, climb or descend in virtually any direction. This allows the craft to be easy to pilot, and it's relatively low construction cost makes it ideal for budget seekers. Though this model features the standard twin Machine Guns, and Front Mounted Scanner, other Strix variants are just as easily obtained. They were originally purposed to serve as orbital Law Enforcement vehicles, however the manufacturers allowed for private buyers to purchase Strix's for their own uses which in turn increased sales and a sudden abundance of this fighter vehicle.

Cerberus-Class multi-purpose fighter is a corporate tech aircraft created for the purpose of establishing air superiority and providing air support for the corporate assets all across the galaxy.Cerberus uses its "Trinity" pulse engine for forward propulsion, as well as short-range Faster Than Light travel. It's also equipped with two thrusters installed on vertical gimbals at the wingtips. This allows for the thrusters to be used not only to maneuver the Cerberus in combat, but also to take off without the need of a runway strip.The Cerberus is an expensive corporate asset, being assigned a class "S" for its state-of-the-art avionics that include an A.I. pilot assistance unit. In case of emergency or death of the pilot, the A.I. is capable of operating the fighter on its own, enough to bring the craft back to the base or self-destruct in the absence of other options.Cerberus' armaments consist of a top-mounted laser beam turret used for point defense and close combat, a pair of medium-range blasters and two air to air missile pods.

Single fighter contest submission:Canary by Aardvark17_, on FlickrSmall and fairly tough. Originally created for asteroid mining operations, but occasionally found reoutfitted with turrets in place of mining lasers, or, similarly to the Hellion, as a personal craft for nomads or mercenaries.

Oh man.... There are so many awesome ships in here, it's going to be a real trick to pick winners! I don't envy Vitor for having make that decision!

I would like to humbly pile on my own submissions, as well while I'm here. ^^

I'm posting the pair for consideration in the Faction contest, but they can also be taken individually.

***The Oberon Tvier Self Defense Force is, in actuality, not a government agency in the conventional sense, but rather a private military contractor in the employ of the Oberon Tvier Colonial Government and tasked with maintaining the security of the colony's sovereign space, defending against hostile forces and assisting with rescue operations in times of disaster.

The Actaea Class fighter is a multi role 0G superiority craft, shown here equipped for mid-range engagement with twin particle beam cannons and reinforced armor plating around the cockpit (WWRdRdB).

The Ligea Class fighter features more conventional aerodynamics, making it better suited for atmospheric engagements. This example is outfitted for scouting, with auxiliary thrusters to enhance airspeed, a radar bar for detecting enemy moment, and linked machine guns for close range dogfighting (WWGYRb)

The Combat Vehicle Athens was designed with stability in mind. Though this heavy aircraft does not win with speed, it does make up for it with dense hardened armor and a capacity to carry various weapon systems. These have been filling the roles for Heavy Bomber and Heavy Fighter in many mercenary and pirate groups. Individually, a CV Athens is not much of a threat, but when paired with others, their combine strength has been known to take down larger targets.

The Wyvern Heavy Fighter has won skirmishes simply by appearing in the combat zone. With a frightful profile, a defended frame, and capable of carrying heavy weapons, this fighter is often the last vessel many see before they are blown from the skies. No one is certain of the origin of the Wyvern Heavy Fighter, but its inclusion into more and more mercenary groups have been escalating. Most Wyverns carry an automated Rear Defense Turret to minimize the vessels blindspot, but even this upgrade cannot completely protect the Wyverns weaker side.

EDIT: In addition to the Wyvern, a more heavily armored variant has been seen, titled the Grand Wyvern. This variant is slightly bulkier and is capable of withstanding firepower that would seriously render a standard Wyvern. However, the cost of building Grand Wyverns prohibits their mass production and so only a few are known to exist currently

Initially Rauthiidet were just another group of pirates in the profitable Korh system. With several colonies and a busy transit gate, it was a real honeypot for trouble.

Rauthiidet formed around captain Üsk Nattaa after they were discharged from the local TTA space fleet. There was no short supply of other unlucky, defiant ruffians looking to make a living. In Nattaa’s command they were able to execute some rather precise ambushes.

Things changed after they raided a shipment from Falumunn colony. The colony spokesperson sent a plea for help to their contractor, the Jovian Plum Trade Union.. The trade union answered that the colony’s shortcomings in security issues weren’t the union’s problem… but that they were willing to sell a few fighters. Pilots could be hired for a fee.

The outraged colonists decided to make another, unexpected offer. To Rauthiidet. And they did agree to purchase several top-of-the-line starfighters from the JPTU in exchange for their next shipment. Only, when the exchange was to take place, the shipment contained Falumunn’s new security detail, the Rauthiidet, and the new ships were quickly and efficiently secured. The Falumunn Rauthiidet was born.

The TTA of course saw this act as somewhat of an insurgence. It didn't want to escalate things to a system-wide conflict, though, so it decided to blame JPTU for the incident and negotiate new terms for Falumunn to work directly under TTA. The system continued to be a real honeypot for trouble… for a while more.

“GNAT”

Most of the original pirate fighters were just heavily modified shuttles intended for daring fly-bys and hit-and-run tactics. They were “lovingly” called Gnats by their pilots and targets alike.

PINCER

Pincer was a general multirole fighter manufactured in-system for the TTA to use as patrol crafts. Captain Nattaa wasn’t the only one who had training and experience with TTA equipment, so Rauthiidet tried to get their hands on these sturdy and reliable fighters whenever possible.

SUPRA-FARRIGAN SF003, “STARFLOWER”

“It’s like a bunch of flowers lighting up the sky,” said someone (probably from JPTUs marketing department). And right enough, the silhouette is unusually delicate. It’s not all for looks, though: the SF003 was specifically designed to utilize advanced energy field projections. The 2-pilot cockpit and semi-autonomous flight systems are only a bonus. As less than nimble, this tiny technological fortress was often reserved to various support roles.